HOSTEL RATINGS: AS TOURISTS TIGHTEN their belts across the globe, many people are turning to hostels as an affordable and exciting accommodation option. Gone are the days of dreary dormitories and smelly mattresses; Wi-Fi and cracking communal areas are now standard features in many hostels, with some boasting private ensuite rooms, saunas and even swimming pools.
This week Hostelworld.com, a Dublin-based website, gave out its Hoscar awards to the best budget accommodation in the industry, based on more than 800,000 votes. The top destination for backpackers is now the red-hot Portuguese capital, Lisbon, with its Travellers House picking up the prize for the world’s top hostel. Rossio Hostel and the Lisbon Lounge were in second and third places. Fourth place went to the Riverhouse Backpackers, in Cardiff, Wales, which also got an award for best staff. Greg-Tom Hostel, in Cracow, took fifth place.
On the domestic front, the west is best when it comes to budget accommodation. Aille River Hostel, in Doolin, Co Clare, was voted best Irish hostel, followed by Kilronan Hostel, on the Aran Islands, Kinlay House Hostel, in Galway, the Súgán Hostel, in Co Kerry, and Sleepzone at the Burren, at the Cliffs of Moher, in Co Clare.
Marlborough Hostel in Dublin also picked up an award for most improved hostel, and there can be little doubt now why most backpackers come to visit Ireland: the Backpacker Pub Crawl in Dublin won the award for best tour, with Wild Wicklow Tours in third place.
More expensive to stay in Galway than
Abu Dhabi Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Barcelona, Tokyo and Munich
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Irish hotel prices down 8
% in 2008
Abu Dhabi Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Barcelona, Tokyo and Munich
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Irish hotel prices down 8
% in 2008 See Page 19 of Hotels.com Index Report
A new index of hotel prices shows that the average Irish hotel room price has fallen at an annual rate of 8% in the three months from July to September. It is more expensive to stay a night in Galway than Abu Dhabi, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Barcelona, Tokyo and Munich. The Irish travel more frequently to an overseas destination than to their own capital and New York is the preferred destination.
A new index of hotel prices shows that the average Irish hotel room price has fallen at an annual rate of 8% in the three months from July to September. It is more expensive to stay a night in Galway than Abu Dhabi, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Barcelona, Tokyo and Munich. The Irish travel more frequently to an overseas destination than to their own capital and New York is the preferred destination.
The Hotels.com's price index - a survey of hotel prices in major destinations across the world - shows that the average price of a hotel room in Ireland was €102, down from €111 the same time last year.
Irish hotel prices saw the second biggest price drop, behind the UK where prices were down 13%. Only four European countries saw hotel prices rise year on year - Switzerland, Denmark, Germany and Poland.
The industry in Ireland, is facing the first downturn in business in seven years. Figures from Tourism Ireland issued last month showed a projected drop in tourism numbers for 2008 of up to 3 per cent, bringing visitor numbers to 8.2 million.
Occupancy in the industry fell from an overall 66 per cent to 61 per cent by the end of September. There are 925 hotels in the country with more than 60,000 bedrooms - a rise from 27,000 10 years ago and 12 per cent more than last year
